US start date confirmed for 1860s gold rush drama ‘The Luminaries’ – watch the trailer!

Starz has announced when The Luminaries will premiere in the US.

Adapted by novelist Eleanor Catton from her award-winning novel, The Luminaries is set on the wild West coast of New Zealand’s South Island at the height of the 1860s gold rush.

The epic 19th century adventure mystery series launched in the UK last summer and now finally makes its stateside debut.

The six-part period drama series is described as “an epic story of love, murder and revenge, as men and women travelled across the world to make their fortunes.”

The Luminaries will air on Sunday nights at 9.30pm from 14th February on Starz, directly following new Outlander spin-off Men In Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham.

The cast includes Eva Green (Penny Dreadful), Eve Hewson (Robin Hood, Bridge of Spies), Marton Csokas (Lord of the Rings), Himesh Patel (EastEnders), Benedict Hardie (Hacksaw Ridge), Yoson An (Mulan), and Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake).

Watch the trailer:

 

The official synopsis for The Luminaries reads: “The story begins in 1865. Anna Wetherell (Eve Hewson) has travelled to New Zealand to forge a new life. On the last day of her voyage, a romantic first encounter with the radiant Emery Staines (Himesh Patel) fills her with great expectations for what lies ahead. But the scheming fortune-teller Lydia Wells (Eva Green) has other ideas for Anna, and lays a trap to ensure that the planned rendezvous between the young lovers never takes place.

“Deceived, swindled, and betrayed, Anna’s fortunes begin to fall. She is drawn into an elaborate plot of blackmail, involving opium, gold, shipwreck, fraud, and false identity, which ultimately finds her framed for murder and fighting for her life.

“But the bond between these star-crossed lovers is more than mere affinity. Anna and Emery are what is known as ‘astral twins’: they were born at the very same instant, and under the very same sky, which means that they share a single destiny.

“When Emery vanishes without a trace, leaving Anna without an alibi for a murder she did not commit, the noose of the plot begins to tighten around her. Faced with the impossible, she must ask: do we make our fortunes, or does fortune make us?”

Eleanor Catton’s original novel is available on Amazon.